Week 7 Big Ten Football Preview

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 5 years ago

Week 7 Big Ten Football Preview

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 5 years ago

It was only a matter of time before the new-look Big Ten featured its first weekend of all divisional matchups, and Week 7 is it. The five-game slate should be a lot of fun, too, especially with perfect Michigan and Illinois facing tough tests against Michigan State and Ohio State, respectively. This week, BTN has Penn State hosting Purdue (noon ET) and Iowa entertaining Northwestern (7 ET). Use our GameFinder to find your BTN game and track all of the action on our Big Ten scoreboard. Watch now as Gerry DiNardo breaks down how Michigan State should attack Michigan’s offense this weekend and check out Brent Yarina’s Week 7 Preview in this post.

Purdue (3-2, 1-0) vs. Penn State (5-1, 2-0)Time: noon ETTV: BTN/BTN2GoSeries: Penn State, 10-3-1Last meeting: Penn State, 20-6 – 2008About Purdue: The Boilers have committed only four turnovers in 2011, this after committing 27 last year and 29 in 2009.About Penn State: Nittany Lion running backs Silas Redd and Curtis Drakes both ran for career highs in last week’s victory over Iowa, with 142 and 60 yards, respectively.Prediction: Penn State 27, Purdue 13

Indiana (1-5, 0-2) vs. Wisconsin (5-0, 1-0)Time: noon ETTV: ESPN2/ESPN3Series: Wisconsin, 37-18-2Last meeting: Wisconsin, 83-20 – 2010About Indiana: Despite their struggles, the Hoosiers have recovered two fumbles in three straight games.About Wisconsin: The Badgers are the only team in the country to rank in the top 10 in both total offense and total defense.Prediction: Wisconsin 67, Indiana 17

Michigan (6-0, 2-0) vs. Michigan State(4-1, 1-0)Time: noon ETTV: ESPN/ESPN3Series: Michigan, 67-31-5Last meeting: Michigan State, 34-17 – 2010About Michigan: No Michigan coach has ever won the Paul Bunyan Trophy, awarded to the Michigan-Michigan State victor, in his first season as head coach. Brady Hoke will try to become the first.About Michigan State: The Spartans have won each of the last three meetings and could make it four straight for the first time since 1962.Prediction: Michigan 30, Michigan State 24

Northwestern (2-3, 0-2) vs. Iowa (3-2, 0-1)Time: 7 ETTV: BTN/BTN2GoSeries: Iowa, 46-23-3Last meeting: Northwestern, 21-17 – 2010About Northwestern: The Wildcats have won five of the last six meetings in the series, including last year’s dramatic 21-17 come-from-behind victory.About Iowa: The Hawkeyes are 8-1 in night games over the last four seasons, with the only loss coming last year at Arizona.Prediction: Iowa 34, Northwestern 31

Season record: 46-11 (81 percent)

Game of the Week:Michigan at Michigan State – It’s a heated instate rivalry, it’s a game between two of the Big Ten’s most surprising defenses, and it’s one that will feature Denard Robinson, the Big Ten’s most explosive offense player, against the conference’s stoutest defense. There’s also a couple streaks on the line, what with Michigan State winning each of the last three meetings and no Michigan coach ever winning the Paul Bunyan Trophy in his first season.

Player of the Week:Montee Ball, Wisconsin – Considering the way the Badgers have been scoring since this time last year and that they pasted 83 on Indiana a season ago, they figure to have another huge day against a struggling Hoosier defense. And when it comes to Wisconsin, nobody scores more often than Montee Ball, he of at least two scores in each of his last nine regular-season games. Last year against Indiana, Ball ran for 167 yards and three scores – a very likely stat line for Saturday.

Team of the Week: Michigan – If Michigan can move to 7-0, something it hasn’t done since 2006, and beat Michigan State, something it hasn’t done since 2007, it will be the favorite to win every national team of the week honor. The Spartans mark the Wolverines’ biggest test of the season, particularly on defense, where they rank in the top three of nearly every important statistical category. If Denard Robinson and Michigan can move the ball and put up points against Michigan State, it will get even more national respect.

Random thought of the Week: How many points will Wisconsin score against Indiana? The Badgers, who have averaged 48.4 points per game this season, put up 83 against the Hoosiers last season. This time, the game’s at home – it’s homecoming, in fact – and Wisconsin has Russell Wilson under center. And let’s face it, in the BCS world we live in, Bret Bielema has shown he will do whatever it takes to impress the voters, including piling on the points. Expect a lot of points on the home team’s side of the scoreboard.